Question of the episode: What did or do you admire about your favorite coach that you’ve ever worked with? (comment with your answer here on substack!)

My guest today is Brian Sullivan, a coach and consultant for Fortitude Mental Performance, who helps individuals, teams, and coaches improve their mindset, leadership, and culture. Part of what I enjoyed about this conversation was the multiple perspectives Brian has on sport. He has:

• played and coached basketball at the Division I level for Davidson University
• played basketball on the professional level in Australia and Europe
• and received a Master’s degree in Sport and Performance Psychology from Denver University

Throughout this episode, you can tell how Brian has blended these experiences and areas of expertise to help the athletes and groups he works with make the most out of their performance.

Some of the topics we go into are:

• the importance of enjoyment in sport
• what percent of sport performance is mental?
• how teams and coaches can better bring their values to life
• the importance and challenge of coaches taking feedback, not just giving it
• and the power of focusing on the quality and types of experiences an athlete has in unique and creative ways

If you’re a coach or parent, this one will be especially impactful, but even as an athlete it can be incredibly beneficial think of coaches as performers and if and how they are helping facilitate an environment that allows you to flourish.

As I’ve stepped into a Mental Performance Consulting role for a few athletes and teams myself, it was really fascinating to hear his approach and the lessons learned from all angles of the court.

Connect with Brian and Fortitude:

https://fortitude.coach

https://instagram.com/fortitude.coach

https://x.com/BrianSullivanSP

Coach Griffin and Forging Iron Training:

Coaching: https://forgingirontraining.fit/coaching-consult

Sponsor the Podcast, Newsletter, and/or Training Squad: https://forgingirontraining.fit/becomeasponsor

Forging Iron Training Principles Substack: https://griffinjaworski.substack.com/

YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/griffinjaworski

More ways to connect:

Instagram:  https://instagram.com/coach_grifjaws

Twitter: https://x.com/coach_grifjaws

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/griffin-jaworski

The best place to leave a comment for us is here on Substack!

Reed Fischer is a 2:10 marathoner and professional runner for Adidas and Tinman Elite. He’s also an Eagle Scout and one of the kindest people I’ve had the privilege to run with. 

When I think about people who have really nailed the sustainable part of sustainable excellence, I think of Reed. As a high school athlete, he wasn’t highly recruited. It took four years of extremely patient development at Drake University to become a name recognized in the NCAA ranks…and nearly a decade later Reed is still improving and now performing on the world stage.

In this episode we talk about:

• his experimental mindset when it comes to training plan development
• how even “negative” results can still have a lot of positives
• his collaborative process with coach Joan Hunter
• and how the story we tell ourselves about how sport fits into our lives isn’t always what it seems.

This was a powerful episode, and Reed shared honestly about navigating training and life when his wife Christine was diagnosed with breast cancer a few years ago.

Reed offers an inside look at the approach of someone who is a master of their craft, getting 9th at the 2024 Olympic Marathon Trials and having just recently represented the US at the Marathon World Championships in Tokyo.

I’m sure you’ll get a lot out of this, and if nothing else become a Reed Fischer fan and join me in supporting him as he gets ready for the New York City Marathon next.

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I loved how Reed has played with different training cycles, so often we get caught up in thinking we need to do things exactly a certain way and his consistency and improvement is a testament that there are so many ways to develop and perform well as an athlete.

I also thought was incredibly powerful when he shared how running had to take a back seat while he navigated the uncertainty and challenging diagnosis Christine was dealt. In the episode, he talks about coaching me, and actually shortly after recording this, my family went through our own medical challenge with my wife and youngest son spending a combined 57 straight days in the hospital.  Thankfully, everyone is currently healthy and home! Rather than putting training on the back burner, I’ve had to take it off the stove completely and am just now getting back into some super short runs and starting to re-contemplate what goals I want to set and even if and how training might fit into our lives as now a dad of 3. I’m sharing a little of that journey on substack as well.

Until next time, happy training!

Connect with and support Reed:

https://www.instagram.com/reedfisch/

https://tinmanelite.com

https://www.hammer-and-axe.com

https://www.strava.com/pros/22433281

https://linktr.ee/reedfisch

Coach Griffin and Forging Iron Training:

Forging Iron Training Principles Substack: https://griffinjaworski.substack.com/ - leave a comment or question for the podcast!

Explore our Coaching`: https://forgingirontraining.fit/coaching-consult

Leave a comment for us on Substack here!

Jud Heugel MD is a pediatrician, father, endurance athlete, health tech startup leader, and mental health advocate blending clinical expertise with lived experience. He’s based in Seattle—though feels most alive on the trails around Bend, Oregon. 

Currently pursuing a Master’s in Applied Sports Psychology and writing on Substack, Jud brings a unique focus on using performance coaching strategies to help athletes—and really, all of us—overcome mental health challenges and thrive. He has shown that athletes can harness the lessons, struggles, and energy of their mental health journeys to unlock deeper fulfillment and stronger performance in sport. 

With a special focus on young athletes, he’s on a mission to help others find their true selves amidst struggle—and thrive both on and off the trail. He lives with bipolar disorder, drawing strength as well as insight from its challenges.

Jud walks the walk in actively moving towards his values, most recently completing the Dark Divide 100 mile ultramarathon!

Learn more about Jud:

Substack: https://thebalancedathlete.substack.com/

Website: www.thebalancedathlete.org

Jud on the Right In Front Of My Face podcast by Shannon Hull: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-balanced-athlete-mental-health-bipolar-and/id1485663501?i=1000708545715

Jud’s guest post featured by Matt Fitzgerald: https://open.substack.com/pub/endurancemastery/p/guest-post-the-8020-rule-for-your?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email

Bonus: after Jud and I recorded, Rich Roll mentioned Jud on Substack a few months later! Amazing what happens when you put your goals out there into the universe and take small actions to make them happen. Maybe Rich, Jud, and I will get a run in together one day!

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Coach Griffin and Forging Iron Training:

Coaching: https://forgingirontraining.fit/coaching-consult

Ask a question or leave a comment: https://forgingirontraining.fit/ama

Sponsor the Podcast, Newsletter, and/or Training Squad: https://forgingirontraining.fit/becomeasponsor

Forging Iron Training Principles Substack: https://griffinjaworski.substack.com/

YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/griffinjaworski

More ways to connect:

Instagram:  https://instagram.com/coach_grifjaws

Twitter: https://x.com/coach_grifjaws

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/griffin-jaworski

Neal Palles is a Psychotherapist (LCSW), Certified Mental Performance Coach (CPMC), and an endurance coach and athlete himself. In this episode, Neal and I get into some of the myths or misunderstandings surrounding mental health and mental strength in sport. In particular, we talk about:

• letting curiosity guide you when you have uncomfortable thoughts and emotions
• aligning your goals with your values
• embracing the uncertainty in racing
• how to build confidence

Neal has a plethora of knowledge and experience and is using these same tools as he navigates his own personal quest of the Lead challenge, which is a series of epic races out in the mountains of Leadville, Colorado. Excited to share this one with you all, let’s dive in.

I’d be really curious to know what resonated with you from this episode, so leave a review or send me a message on Instagram or an email. Plus, if something in this episode made you think of a friend or training partner, we’d love it if you spread the word and shared it with them.

Until next time, go take some action to build that confidence, and happy training!

Connect with Neal:

https://coloradopsychotherapyandsport.com

https://trainright.com/coaches/neal-palles/

https://www.instagram.com/nealpalles/

Coach Griffin and Forging Iron Training:

Coaching: https://forgingirontraining.fit/coaching-consult

Ask a question or leave a comment: https://forgingirontraining.fit/ama

Sponsor the Podcast, Newsletter, and/or Training Squad: https://forgingirontraining.fit/becomeasponsor

Forging Iron Training Principles Substack: https://griffinjaworski.substack.com/

YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/griffinjaworski

More ways to connect:

Instagram:  https://instagram.com/coach_grifjaws

Twitter: https://x.com/coach_grifjaws

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/griffin-jaworski

Welcome back to the Forging Iron Podcast, where we connect with people like endurance athletes, authors, sports nutritionists and mental performance coaches to share the science and stories of sport and performance.

As iron sharpens iron, people sharpen people!

My guests today are the co-founders of Liberty Track Club, an inspiring post-collegiate women’s running club that’s currently sponsored by Oiselle. 

Carey Gosselin and Veronica Eder are Nurse Practitioner and Data Analytics Manager by day…and extremely fast distance runners by much earlier in the day. In this episode Carey and Veronica share the grassroots way they created the club and how being connected to and supported by runners chasing their goals has helped them continue to find a passion for running, especially while navigating challenges of their own. I'm excited to share this one with you! 

Check out Liberty Track Club:

Website: https://www.libertytrackclub.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/libertytrackclub

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Coach Griffin and Forging Iron Training:

Coaching: https://forgingirontraining.fit/coaching-consult

Ask a question or leave a comment: https://forgingirontraining.fit/ama

Sponsor the Podcast, Newsletter, and/or Training Squad: https://forgingirontraining.fit/becomeasponsor

Forging Iron Training Principles Substack: https://griffinjaworski.substack.com/

YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/griffinjaworski

More ways to connect:

Instagram:  https://instagram.com/coach_grifjaws

Twitter: https://x.com/coach_grifjaws

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/griffin-jaworski

My guest today is Anderson Bobo, the creative director for Oregon Track and Field. In this episode, Anderson shares the thoughts and insights he has from behind the lens of high performance programs and athletes that are competing for NCAA and Olympic titles. 

Anderson views his role as one of a story teller, which lines up really well with sport psychology: as we train and compete in races, we inevitably tell ourselves a story about our performances. Anderson give us some pretty powerful perspectives in this episode that can help you create and direct the vision for your own sport narrative. 

Connect with Anderson aka @bobo.studios

https://www.instagram.com/bobo.studios

Https://www.instagram.com/oregontf

Watch the video on Oregon’s NCAA Championship: https://youtu.be/1t5o4pq8Hm4 Beyond the Spikes 

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From the episode: 

Brevard Distance Runner's Camp

The 5 Worst Mistakes I Made As A Collegiate Athlete

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Coach Griffin and Forging Iron Training:

Coaching: https://forgingirontraining.fit/coaching-consult

Ask a question or leave a comment: https://forgingirontraining.fit/ama

Sponsor the Podcast, Newsletter, and/or Training Squad: https://forgingirontraining.fit/becomeasponsor

Forging Iron Training Principles Substack: https://griffinjaworski.substack.com/

YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/griffinjaworski

More ways to connect:

Instagram:  https://instagram.com/coach_grifjaws

Twitter: https://x.com/coach_grifjaws

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/griffin-jaworski

What do 3rd graders, the FBI, and the university of Wisconsin athletic department have in common? They’ve all been taught mediation from my guest today, Chad McGehee.

Chad is the Director of Meditation Training at the University of Wisconsin athletic department, which is a first of it’s kind position in major sports. Throughout this conversation, I think you’ll see why Chad is able to be at the forefront of this work, as he blends cutting-edge research and neuroscience with traditional meditation practices in order to help athletes, teams, law enforcement and businesses enhance their cognitive function, well-being and overall performance.

When a lot of us hear the wordsmindfulness or meditation, we might think about isolation, but as Chad explains in this episode, meditation isn't just for monks alone on the mountaintops, there’s also a whole pro-social side to it, and it can improve our team cohesion and ability to connect with those around us.

I’d be incredibly curious to know what resonates with you from this episode, consider leaving a review on your podcast app, sharing it on Instagram, or filling out our podcast feedback and suggestion form.

Connect and learn more about Chad McGeHee and Inner Edge:

https://inneredgemeditation.com

UW Athletics: https://uwbadgers.com/staff-directory/chad-mcgehee/748

https://www.wetravel.com/trips/meditation-retreat-for-mental-performance-in-sport-inner-edge-meditation-02415271

Healthy Minds Program: https://hminnovations.org/meditation-app

Coach Griffin and Forging Iron Training:

Coaching: https://forgingirontraining.fit/coaching-consult

Ask a question or leave a comment: https://forgingirontraining.fit/ama

Sponsor the Podcast, Newsletter, and/or Training Squad: https://forgingirontraining.fit/becomeasponsor

Forging Iron Training Principles Substack: https://griffinjaworski.substack.com/

YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/griffinjaworski

More ways to connect:

Instagram:  https://instagram.com/coach_grifjaws

Twitter: https://x.com/coach_grifjaws

What do you wish you could tell your coach, but for whatever reason never did?

That is the fundamental question Dr. Sara Erdner and I explore, as well as the theme for her book: Dear Coach, What I Wish I Could Have Told You. 

If there’s one thing that’s clear about sport (especially at the collegiate and youth levels) it’s that coaches don’t just impact an athletes current physical skills, they also have a massive influence on their long term psychological well being, confidence, and motivation.

In this epsiode, we talk about things like:

• is there a downside to our emphasis on being “coachable”?
• the irony of coaches wanting athletes to take feedback, but not being open to it themselves
• why teams and organizations aren’t families and why they should stop saying they are
• why we ultimately need to focus on coach mental health and mental strength if we want to instill the same in athletes
• and even some questions a high schooler or parent might ask on a recruiting visit to really get a sense of how the culture and relationship the coach is fostering

If you haven’t already, I’d encourage you to listen to my conversation with Dr. Brian Zuleger on building mental strength from the inside out. As Dr. Erdner and I discuss, many coaches are outside in, meaning that when the team is performing great, the coach’s well-being, confidence, and motivation are high….but once the team performance starts to drop….then the coach’s well-being, confidence, and motivation, quickly follow.

Dr. Erder is a Certified Mental Performance Coach with a PhD in Sport Psychology and Motor Behavior. She’s worked with all levels of athletes, including being the mental performance coach for a major professional sports organization, and is currently one of my professors at Adams State University. Dr. Erdner has an incredible amount of knowledge and experience, but rather than just telling coaches what they should do better, she hopes that this conversation and her book are invitations for coaches, athletes, administrations and organizations to launch more conversations around creating needed and lasting changes so that we can create the kind of positive experiences for coaches and athletes alike that sport can and should be all about.

Find more about Dr. Erdner and her book at: https://www.dearcoachbook.com 

Psychology of Sport Injury & Rehabilitation podcast

Nutcracker Syndrome podcast

Suggested reading: research on playfulness and performance:

Performance and physical activity. How playful activities implemented into training in Danish esports clubs influence players' performance experience

Playful sport design: A game changer?

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Coach Griffin and Forging Iron Training:

Coaching: https://forgingirontraining.fit/coaching-consult

Leave a comment: https://forgingirontraining.fit/ama

Sponsor the Podcast, Newsletter, and/or Training Squad: https://forgingirontraining.fit/becomeasponsor

Forging Iron Training Principles: https://griffinjaworski.substack.com/

YouTube: https://youtube.com/griffinjaworski

Max Stoneking is an accomplished triathlete, former collegiate swimmer, as well as a triathlon coach and physical therapist (DPT).

This episode is all about navigating the physical and mental challenges of sport and how to integrate it into your schedule alongside the demands and stresses of our work and social calendar.

We talk about relative energy deficiency syndrome and the red flags to look out for in your own training. I really appreciated Max’s honesty in handling RED-S, which is something I also talked a bit out on my episode with Ellen Davis, who's a a sports nutritionist as well as Brady Holmer, who just rocked a 2:26 marathon in Boston, so feel free to circle back to those if you’re fascinated by that.

One thing I loved about this conversation was Max’s approach as a physical therapist and coach and how he intentionally works to create an environment that people enjoy showing up to, and helping people think about the why or purpose behind their rehab and training.

If you're interested in creating a life of intention, helping others, and building the self-awareness necessary to thrive in the long run, this episode has something for you, let’s dive in.

This episode is brought to you by Forging Iron Training Principles, something infused in this conversation is training at the edge of our capacity, and essentially the repercussions that occur either from an injury, fatigue, hormonal, or mindset standpoint when we go too far. If you find that fascinating, I’d encourage you to check out our post on the Law of Diminishing Training Returns, where we talk about how, when it comes to long term improvement, sometimes less is more and what are some of those warning signs or things to avoid when we’re almost too motivated to push beyond our current limits.

I’d love to know what your takeaways from this episode are! Leave a comment or review, share it on social media (linked below), or send us a message here: https://forgingirontraining.fit/ama

Until next time, happy training!

Connect with Max Stoneking, PT, DPT

https://maxstoneking.substack.com

https://www.eliteedgecoached.com

https://x.com/max_stoneking

https://www.performancerehabkc.com/olathecollegeblvdandk7

Coach Griffin and Forging Iron Training:

Coaching: https://forgingirontraining.fit/coaching-consult

Ask a question or leave a comment: https://forgingirontraining.fit/ama

Sponsor the Podcast, Newsletter, and/or Training Squad: https://forgingirontraining.fit/becomeasponsor

Forging Iron Training Principles Substack: https://griffinjaworski.substack.com/

YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/griffinjaworski

More ways to connect:

Instagram:  https://instagram.com/coach_grifjaws

Twitter: https://x.com/coach_grifjaws

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/griffin-jaworski

Gordo Byrn is the former Ultraman World Champion, which is a 3 day stage race covering 320 miles with a 6.2 mile swim followed by a 90 mile bike ride on day one, a 171 mile ride on day 2, and after all that, just your standard, run of the mill double marathon, 52.4 miles of running on the islands of Hawaii.

At the time of this recording, Gordo was dealing with an injury, but a few months later he’s winning the 55-59 age group at Ironman 70.3 oceanside, with a blazing time of 4:38 and a sub 1:30 run split, averaging 6:48 per mile and winning the age group by 10 minutes. This is all the more impressive not just from navigating injury, but by the fact that Gordo is coming back from taking 10 years off from racing, with virtually no running or swimming in a decade.

We talk about that return to sport, not only how he handled from the physical training, but the mental side as well, how his approach was to actually work easier instead of harder, and how being able to keep up with his kids and create incredible experiences with them inspired his return.

I love Gordo’s perspective not just on training philosophy, but his approach to creating his ideal lifestyle, aligning the type of person he wants to be with the problems and projects he finds fascinating, and allowing those to help steer his goals.

Gordo is an inspiration to so many athletes, coaches, and parents. Let us know what you get out of this episode by sharing it on social media, sending us an email, or leaving a comment or review on your podcasting app. Enjoy!

More about Gordo:

Endurance Essentials 

True Wealth  

Live Long and Prosper

How to Skate a 10k by Nils van der Poel: https://www.howtoskate.se

Twitter: @feelthebyrn1

Instagram: @feelthebyrn

Youtube

Strava

Gordo on Rich Roll podcast

Coach Griffin & Forging Iron Training:

Coaching: https://forgingirontraining.fit/coaching-consult

Ask a question or leave a comment: https://forgingirontraining.fit/ama

Sponsor the Podcast, Newsletter, & Training Squad: https://forgingirontraining.fit/becomeasponsor

Forging Iron Training Principles Substack

YouTube Channel:

More ways to connect:

Instagram:  @coach_grifjaws

Twitter: @coach_grifjaws

LinkedIn